Exports are driving red meat demand. August export data was released yesterday, and beef shipments were $1.04 billion for the month (a record for any month), and pork exports were $634 million. Part of that was higher prices; August was only the second highest volume of the year for beef exports, despite the value record, May’s volume was larger. Nonetheless, those values were also driven by volume. Compared to August of last year, beef export value was up 55 percent, and volume was up 21 percent. For pork, export value was up 20 percent and volume was up 4 percent, and for the year to date, pork exports are on a pace ahead of last year’s record volume. More volume at higher prices defines increased demand for U.S. red meat. A...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.